www.westfieldchurch.org 1

JULY / AUGUST 2017

The CORNERSTONE

2 Christmas in July!

2 Back to School Collection

2 Red Cross Blood Drive

3 Rev. David Champ

3 Waldameer/Erie Trip

3 Local Mission Conference

4 Hope Food Pantry

4 Special Friends

Special Inserts:

VBS Memories

Mission Conference Details

A publication of Westfield Presbyterian Church

Outdoor Worship and All-Church Picnic Set for July 16 by Heather Brenner

The Annual Outdoor Worship and All-

Church Picnic Sunday is July 16. Lots of

fun games such as kickball, bocce, corn-

hole, Frisbee golf, and bubbles for the

little ones are planned! Deacons will pro-

vide chicken and the drinks. Please bring

your lawn chairs and a side dish (last

names A-M) or dessert (last names N-Z).

Also on July 16 we are having a Safe in

the Sun collection to give to Mohawk

students

through the

Summer Eats

food pro-

gram. If you

would like to

donate sunglasses, sun screen (SPF 15 or

higher), and hats, it would be greatly

appreciated! Boxes will be set up for

collection.

What’s INSIDE

Summer Evening Bible Study at

the Pavilion, 6:30 - 7:30 P.M. Sunday, July 16 with Sam Vastano Sunday, August 6 with David Champ Thank you to Leroy Keim for lead-

ing our June study!

Experience Magnificent Love! by Paul Votaw

Many thanks to all who made Vacation

Bible School an exciting, fun-filled

week. Well done! Be sure to look over

the attached VBS insert and the photos.

Rather than an article this month, I will

simply wish you all a wonderful sum-

mer. May it be a time when you experi-

ence the magnificent love of God and

the wonder of his creation.

Men Meet Thursday Mornings

Bob Evans Restaurant in Union Township is the place to

be every Thursday morning at 7:30 A.M. for breakfast and

fellowship time with the men of Westfield. Enjoy a casual

morning of friendship and sharing. Contact Pastor Paul to

find out more.

www.westfieldchurch.org 2

Christian Education Highlights by Linda McBride

It’s Christmas in July! Announc-

ing our December 2017 events

with specific dates and details

coming soon!

Light Up Night featuring a pot

luck dinner

Mobile Living Nativity: We’ll be

taking our Live Nativity on the

road in December to various nurs-

ing homes.

Dinner Theater Event on Satur-

day, December 16

Happy Birthday Jesus Party for

all ages during Sunday School

hour

This summer in our Junior De-

partment (kids age 3 - Grade 6)

our focus is on God’s Creation

with lessons from Genesis. Our

summer teachers are: Debby

McClain (pre-K and K), Rhonda

Breuer (Grades 1-4) and Special

Guest Teachers for the Grades 5

and 6 class!

Mark your calendar for our Rally

Day Open House on Sunday, Sep-

tember 10, at 9:45 A.M.

Get ready for the 2nd Annual Back to

School Shoe & Sock Collection! Last

year, Westfield helped in donating shoes

and socks for students in the Mohawk

District. What a blessing that was to many

families who might not be able to give

their children a basic need for the start of

a new school year!

This year, I am organizing another collec-

tion with a slight change. We discovered

that the biggest need is for new athletic

type shoes in order for all kids to have

correct shoes for Wellness (gym) class.

I’m in the process of gathering specific

sizes needed in order to best meet the

needs of our kids. During the month of

July, there will be a display with post-its

saying which sizes are needed. My hope

is that many of you will take a tag and

purchase the shoes indicated. You may

drop them off in the display area. There

will also be a donation box if you would

like to make a cash donation or drop off a

gift card from Walmart, K-Mart, or Pay-

less.

Westfield has been

such a leader in our

community when it

comes to taking care

of our students! If you could have seen

the looks on the faces of the parents

when handed new shoes along with the

thanks from the kids, you would know

why this is such an important mission.

Last year, we were able to give shoes out

to approximately 50 families. Please

prayerfully consider how you can help

these kids put their best foot forward

when school starts again in August!

If you have any questions, please contact

me at 724-336-6564.

July 27 Blood Drive

Westfield will host a Red Cross Blood drive on Thursday, July 27 from 1:30 to 7:00 P.M.

To register please call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org and enter ENON. You may also contact Lee Ann Martin at 724.667.8613 or hausmann133@gmail.com.

Best Foot Forward Back to School Collection Starts July 2 by Phyllis McCullough

The CORNERTONE

Community Meal

Invite some friends and neighbors and

join us for our July and August free

community meals from 5-7 P.M. on

Wednesday, July 26 and Wednesday,

August 30.

Some of last year’s donations

www.westfieldchurch.org 3

The CORNERSTONE

Our Mission Team departs for West Vir-

ginia this week. Please pray for our team

and for all those we will serve. May the

love of Christ shine through us!

Friday August 4, is Drive-In Movie night

at the church pavilion. Our double feature

is The Great Mouse Detective at 8 P.M.

with a brief intermission followed by

Moana. This all-church event offers free

food and refreshments in the pavilion.

Bring your chairs and blankets and enjoy

entertainment under the stars!

Upcoming YO! events include a family

bus trip to Kennywood on July 10, Pine

Valley service day on July 27 and our

fall kick-off on August 20. We have our

weekly meetings on Sundays and a sum-

mer book study on Thursdays. Please

pray for these and all our events

throughout the summer.

All-Church Waldameer/Erie Trip

Summer Youth and Family Events by David Champ

Enjoy a fun weekend in Erie! Discount

Waldameer Park tickets and group hotel

rates will help you plan the perfect family

getaway on the July 21 and 22 weekend.

Waldameer Tickets! $24.50 per day,

may be used either day. Please sign up

and pay at Westfield before July 2.

Hotel Reservations! Book your own

hotel at group rates.

Contact Hampton Inn - Erie South. Re-

serve by July 5 for Westfield group rate

of $139 +tax.

Contact Fairfield Inn - Erie Millcreek

Mall. Reserve by June 30 for Westfield

group rate of $134 + tax.

Please contact Brenda Stewart with any

questions

The 2017 New Wilmington

Mission Conference (NWMC)

will be held July 22-29. At 112

year old, it is the longest-

running mission conference in

the United States. Held on the

campus of Westminster Col-

lege every July, NWMC is int-

ergenerational, Presbyterian-

related and youth-focused.

About 1,000 people attend from over 30 states and 20 countries for a chance to con-nect with mission workers and hear what God is doing all over the world.

This week-long conference features many well-known and engaging speakers. Come for the week or drive over for the day! More infor-mation is available at nwmcmission.org and on the enclosed insert.

Ballroom Lessons Continue

Beginner ballroom dancing lessons will continue throughout July and August. Please join

us on July 3, July 17, August 7 and August 21 for these instructional and fun evenings.

6:30 - 8:00 P.M. in Fellowship Hall. Note: Please do not wear open-toed shoes.

www.westfieldchurch.org 4

In July

Items for the Project HOPE

Food Pantry in July are canned

meats: tuna, chicken, Spam

In August peanut butter & jelly

Always Needed coffee, juices, cereals, dish soap,

laundry soap

Please leave your donations in

the bins in the coat rack area.

Monetary donations may be made

payable to Westfield with “Project

HOPE” on the memo line.

Special Friends

Russ & Judy Bryan

Alice Fullerton

Shirley Gibson

Harry Jolley

Mary Lou Williams

Stop, Look and Listen

Literature, painting, music — the most

basic lesson that all art teaches us is to

stop, look and listen to life on this planet,

including our own lives, as a vastly richer,

deeper, more mysterious business than

most of the time it ever occurs to us to

suspect as we bumble along from day to

day on automatic pilot. ...

When Jesus [says] that the greatest com-

mand of all is to love God and to love our

neighbor, he too is asking us to pay

attention. If we are to love God, we must

first stop, look and listen for him in what

is happening around us and inside us. If

we are to love our neighbors, before

doing anything else we must see our

neighbors. With our imagination as well

as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we

must see not just their faces but the life

behind and within their faces. Here it is

love that is the frame we see them in.

—Frederick Buechner

Whistling in the Dark

• Return to the basics — On July 4 we

commemorate the origins of our country.

In terms of faith, we also periodically

need to hear again the foundational stories

of Creation, the Israelites and, of course,

Jesus.

• Honor the gift of freedom — “For free-

dom Christ has set us free … do not sub-

mit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians

5:1, ESV). We strive as citizens to preserve

and live out our national freedom. Like-

wise, as citizens of God’s kingdom we

live gladly in the freedom of salvation and

share that gift with others.

• Enjoy community — July 4 is known

for picnics, parades and other commu-

nity gatherings. Similarly, the church is

nourished by coming together for wor-

ship, meals and other special events.

• Be light in the darkness — As fire-

works brighten the sky with light and

color, the church is called to display the

Gospel’s unique light in a dark world.

Our word dynamite and the Greek word

for power — as in, “You will receive

power when the Holy Spirit comes on

you” (Acts 1:8) — share a root. Through

God’s power in us, we share Jesus —

dynamically! — with others.

Independence Day Lessons for Church Life

The CORNERTONE

Join Us For Coffee

It’s Angel A. reminding you that even though it’s summer

Coffee and Conversation is still taking place in the Parlor

every Sunday. Why not sign up for a week? Just grab a

pencil from the coffee cup! If you like to bake - great, but I

heard good reviews about the donuts on VBS Sunday. So

bake it or buy it and it will disappear.